scholarly journals Dominant Processing Factors in Two-Step Fabrication of Pure Sulfide CIGS Absorbers

Energies ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (16) ◽  
pp. 4737
Author(s):  
Sarallah Hamtaei ◽  
Guy Brammertz ◽  
Marc Meuris ◽  
Jef Poortmans ◽  
Bart Vermang

Pure sulfide CIGS solar cells are interesting candidates for standalone solar cells or top cells in a tandem configuration. To understand the limits and improve the power conversion efficiency of these devices, a comprehensive approach aimed at composition, interface, and process engineering should be employed. Here, the latter was explored. Using a two-step fabrication technique and one-variable-at-a-time methodology, we found the four processing factors affecting the absorber the most. While two were already backed by the previous literature, we found new and statistical evidence for two other important factors as well. The impact of alkali barrier diffusion was also established with statistical significance and under various processing conditions. Furthermore, the absorber roughness for samples without a barrier indicated a significant negative linear correlation with the devices’ efficiency. This contribution could aid engineers in more efficient process designs.

RSC Advances ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (45) ◽  
pp. 26631-26638 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fazal E. Subhan ◽  
Aimal Daud Khan ◽  
Adnan Daud Khan ◽  
Najeeb Ullah ◽  
Muhammad Imran ◽  
...  

Tandem configuration-containing perovskite and silicon solar cells are promising candidates for realizing a high power conversion efficiency of 30% at reasonable costs.


Author(s):  
Olga S. Sivash ◽  
Roman S. Usenko

Inflation is a complex multilateral process, which, in general, has a negative impact on the economy, reduces the level of economic activity of the population and leads to a decrease in the level of real income. The article studies the main constituent elements of the inflation category, reveals the parameters of the impact on the economy of the inflation process, studies the dynamics of factors affecting the forecast inflation rate in the Southern Federal District, develops a regional multifactor inflation model, and based on the approximated data, a forecast of the annual inflation rate is constructed in the Southern Federal District at the end of 2020. The most significant factors affecting the inflation rate in the Russian Federation were identified from the position of the direction of their influence: acceleration or deceleration of inflation, as well as from the point of view of their degree of influence on the inflation rate. At the same time, the influence of the coronavirus pandemic and fluctuations in the oil market on the economic parameters in the Russian Federation in 2020, on the price level of individual food and non-food products was examined. The analyzed indicator of the inflation rate is defined as an indicator of the state of the economic situation in the country, it is revealed that this variable will be dependent. Using the methods of correlation and regression analysis, a mathematical expression is found in the form of a regression model and its adequacy and statistical significance are evaluated. The coefficient of pair correlation, which characterizes the degree of statistical dependence between two variables, without taking into account the influence of other variables, was adopted as the main indicator characterizing the relationship between the analyzed variables. As a result of the calculations, a model of multiple linear regression of the inflation rate was built, the average monthly nominal accrued wages of the employees of the organizations were approximated, and approximation equations were obtained, which made it possible to build an inflation rate forecast for the Southern Federal District for 2019-2020.


Energies ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (17) ◽  
pp. 4545
Author(s):  
Deewakar Poudel ◽  
Shankar Karki ◽  
Benjamin Belfore ◽  
Grace Rajan ◽  
Sushma Swaraj Atluri ◽  
...  

The impact of moisture ingress on the surface of copper indium gallium diselenide (CIGS) solar cells was studied. While industry-scale modules are encapsulated in specialized polymers and glass, over time, the glass can break and the encapsulant can degrade. During such conditions, water can potentially degrade the interior layers and decrease performance. The first layer the water will come in contact with is the transparent conductive oxide (TCO) layer. To simulate the impact of this moisture ingress, complete devices were immersed in deionized water. To identify the potential sources of degradation, a common window layer for CIGS devices—a bilayer of intrinsic zinc oxide (i-ZnO) and conductive indium tin oxide (ITO)—was deposited. The thin films were then analyzed both pre and post water soaking. To determine the extent of ingress, dynamic secondary ion mass spectroscopy (SIMS) was performed on completed devices to analyze impurity diffusion (predominantly sodium and potassium) in the devices. The results were compared to device measurements, and indicated a degradation of device efficiency (mostly fill factor, contrary to previous studies), potentially due to a modification of the alkali profile.


2015 ◽  
Vol 23 (5) ◽  
pp. 537-545 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mirjam Theelen ◽  
Vincent Hans ◽  
Nicolas Barreau ◽  
Henk Steijvers ◽  
Zeger Vroon ◽  
...  

2015 ◽  
Vol 141 ◽  
pp. 49-56 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mirjam Theelen ◽  
Christopher Foster ◽  
Henk Steijvers ◽  
Nicolas Barreau ◽  
Zeger Vroon ◽  
...  

Polymers ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (8) ◽  
pp. 1304
Author(s):  
Yung-Sheng Yen ◽  
Velu Indumathi

A series of novel double-anchoring dyes for phenoxazine-based organic dyes with two 2-cyanoacetic acid acceptors/anchors, and the inclusion of a 2-ethylhexyl chain at the nitrogen atom of the phenoxazine that is connected with furan, thiophene, and 3-hexylthiophene as a linker, are used as sensitizers for dye-sensitized solar cells. The double-anchoring dye exhibits strong electronic coupling with TiO2, provided that there is an efficient charge injection rate. The result showed that the power conversion efficiency of DP-2 with thiophene linker-based cell reached 3.80% higher than that of DP-1 with furan linker (η = 1.53%) under standard illumination. The photovoltaic properties are further tuned by co-adsorption strategy, which improved power conversion efficiencies slightly. Further molecular theoretical computation and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy analysis of the dyes provide further insight into the molecular geometry and the impact of the different π-conjugated spacers on the photophysical and photovoltaic performance.


Author(s):  
G. O. Mazhiyeva

Organizations that want to improve their performance should focus on the satisfaction of their employees, because employees who are satisfied with their work are the largest asset in the organization, while unsatisfied employees are its biggest problems and obligations. Much attention should be paid to the problem of measuring employee satisfaction in an organization, since this circumstance clearly describes the current situation of the organization. Understanding how satisfied employees are with the job contains useful information to predict their future behavior and make the right managerial decisions. Human resource management can overcome many challenges by offering various methods that increase employee satisfaction. These methods will help the organization work better. It is imperative that organizations maximize the impact of supportive human resource management practices. The article presents the results of a study aimed at studying human resource management practices affecting employee satisfaction. The study was conducted by an online survey among employees of educational institutions of the city of Almaty. The results revealed practices that significantly affect employee satisfaction, in particular: training and development; awareness raising; democratic approach and fair distribution of power, the provision of authority; providing employment security; stimulation of self-realization and career advancement; initiative management. The socio-demographic factors affecting employee satisfaction were also identified. Indicators such as gender and income showed a high level of statistical significance.


2007 ◽  
Vol 1012 ◽  
Author(s):  
Takashi Minemoto ◽  
Yasuhiro Hashimoto ◽  
Takuya Satoh ◽  
Takayuki Negami ◽  
Hideyuki Takakura

AbstractThe impact of the conduction band offset (CBO) between window/Cu(In,Ga)Se2 (CIGS) layers on the light soaking (LS) effect in CIGS solar cells has been studied with continuous CBO control using a (Zn,Mg)O (ZMO) window layer. Two types of CIGS solar cells with different window/buffer/absorber layers configurations were fabricated, i.e., ZMO/CIGS (without buffer layer) and ZMO/CdS/CIGS structures. The CBO values between ZMO and CIGS layers were controlled to -0.15~0.25 eV. Plus and minus signs of CBO indicate the conduction band minimums of ZMO above and below that of CIGS, respectively. Current-voltage (J-V) characteristics of the solar cells with different LS durations revealed that a positive CBO value higher than 0.16 eV induces J-V curve distortion, i.e., LS effect, and all the J-V characteristics stabilized in 30 min. The degrees of the LS effect were dominated by the CBO value between ZMO and CIGS layers in the both structure regardless of the existence of CdS buffer layers. These results indicate that the LS effect is dominated by the highest barrier for photo-generated electrons in the conduction band diagram, i.e., the CBO between ZMO and CIGS layers, and quantitatively the LS effect emerges the CBO value higher than 0.16 eV.


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